I always look forward to writing this article about the year’s top 10 book marketing articles on this site. It forces me to do something I need to do more often — study what resonates with you here so I can deliver more of it.

Google Analytics helps me identify the blog posts with the most traffic (visits). Because I want the list to focus only on articles created or updated in 2022, I remove those in the top 10 that don’t fit that description.

In addition to helping you see anything that could help you but that you might have missed, this annual process helps me:

• Identify trends
• Uncover surprises (for example, I thought “Amazon A+ Content: Elevate your book’s Amazon page” would get more traffic than it did, especially considering it was widely shared)
• Determine what to write about in the following year

Your top 10 book marketing articles

Which Build Book Buzz articles made the most difference for you? Here are your favorite book marketing articles according to blog traffic reports.

1. 2022 literary calendar has 149 opportunities for celebrating all things books

This month-by-month list of occasions that celebrate all things books this year makes it easy to find opportunities you can work into your book marketing plans. It includes information on how to use the special days and holidays for year-round book marketing and promotion. (Be sure to download the 2023 literary calendar using that option in the article here.)

2. How to email a press release to journalists: The biggest mistake to avoid

Originally published in 2012 and updated this year, this how-to article with a short demo video is at the top of the traffic list year after year. It’s a must-read if you plan to contact journalists.

3. BookTok for book marketing

This roundup of media coverage of BookTok (a TikTok subculture for books and readers) digs into the impact of short videos from book lovers and why they’re important, and explains how you can use BookTok to your advantage.

4. 5 ways to promote your book long after the launch

Readers don’t care if your book came out last week, last month, or last year. All they care about is that it’s a good book. Here are five things you can do to promote your fiction and nonfiction books long after the launch has come and gone.

5. 18 book marketing tips from the trenches

I asked authors, book marketers, book publicists, and publishers for their best book marketing tips. Here’s truly helpful advice from 18 of them.

6. The difference between book reviews and endorsements

What’s the difference between book reviews and book endorsements? And why should you care? The article answers those questions and outlines the two types of book reviews and how they differ. Don’t miss the examples of endorsements in the second half.

7. 7 ways to promote your book while watching TV

The next time you’re watching TV to relax, especially if the show doesn’t require you to look at the screen the whole time to follow the action, try doing a few of these book promotion activities.

8. Attract more readers by including these 3 author bio essentials

Condensing your personal story into a few sentences can be a challenge. Build your credibility with readers by including these three author bio essentials in your author bio. Each is something readers expect to see on your book’s back cover and sales pages.

9. Boost social media success with these 3 image types

Research shows that images improve your social media success and engagement. Here are three types of custom images you can create that support your book marketing messages while they increase social media engagement.

10. Create your book marketing plan by answering these 7 questions

If you want to sell books, creating a book marketing plan isn’t optional – it’s essential. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of it, though. It’s really just a matter of answering the right questions. You’ll find them here.

I’ve been blogging here for more than 10 years, so there’s a huge amount of free information on this site. Find it with the search box. It’s on the right if you’re on a computer; on the bottom if you’re viewing this with a mobile device.

I’m looking forward to another year of learning and sharing with you.

What do you want me to write about on this blog in the coming year? Please offer suggestions in a comment below.

COVID-19’s impact on most industries is stunning. On the book publishing side, publishers have furloughed or laid off staff. Printers have struggled to print and ship books according to pre-COVID timelines. Authors who rely on in-person promotion had to re-think their book marketing strategies.

And yet, as an author, you’ve kept moving forward, haven’t you?

I have, too. This past year, I’ve published dozens of book marketing articles designed to help you rise above the chaos and confusion so you continue to sell books.

Which Build Book Buzz articles made the most difference for you? Here are your favorite book marketing articles according to blog traffic reports.

1. 2020 literary calendar with 122 occasions for book fans

This month-by-month list of occasions that celebrate all things books during the year we’re leaving behind makes it easy to find opportunities you can work into your book marketing plans. It includes information on how to use the 122 special days and holidays for year-round book marketing.

2. Book cover re-designs: A pro offers 7 before and after examples

This guest post by cover designer Alexander von Ness explains the thought process behind makeovers of seven fiction and nonfiction book covers. Each example includes the original cover and Alexander’s redesigned version, along with a link to a more detailed examination on his site.

3. “I wish I had known that before I self-published.” 25 authors share what they’ve learned

I asked self-published authors, “What do you know now about self-publishing that you wish you had known when you started?” This article showcases their responses on everything from where to learn what you need to know to whether you should publish on Amazon exclusively and the importance of a book marketing plan.

4. TikTok demographics for authors

TikTok was the fastest growing social network in 2019. This 2020 article digs into the video platform’s demographics so you can see if it’s a good fit for your target readers.

5. 3 Amazon secrets every author needs to know

In this guest post, book marketer Rob Eagar explains how to use Amazon’s power to your advantage. He presents three little-known Amazon secrets that can make a big difference, including how to use the platform to build your author email list.

6. The shy author’s guide to book promotion

While some authors embrace book marketing and promotion with enthusiasm, many just wish it would go away. In this article, I detail five “I can’t do this” obstacles I see the most from shy authors. It includes ideas for getting around them.

7. 2021 literary calendar with 137 occasions for book lovers

This December update to the popular 2020 list published last January takes things up a notch with more holidays and a “download and save this calendar” option designed to make it even more useful.

8. Trade book reviews: Behind the scenes with a professional reviewer

Rose Fox, director of BookLife Reviews, Publishers Weekly‘s paid review service for indie authors, explains trade reviews (also known as media and literary reviews) and how to get them. She walks us through exactly what happens on the publication review side. She also explains why getting a book reviewed can take a lot longer than you’d think.

9. How to get awesome book cover blurbs

Many self-published authors refer to their book description as a blurb, but the publishing industry uses that word for pre-publication endorsements and testimonials. This article addresses who to approach for endorsements and presents nine steps for snagging blurbs your mother would be proud of.

10. 4 steps to new book marketing habits

This article breaks down the habit-making recommendations of B.J. Fogg, author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything. It’s a must-read if you’re serious about improving your life by replacing habits that don’t work for you anymore with those that will do the job.

I was happy to see that three of the top 10 book marketing articles here were written by guest bloggers.

It’s a reminder that guest blogging in reverse — bringing top authorities and experts to your site instead of going to theirs — helps provide your readers with useful content that matters to them.

Help me create content that will hit the top 10 list next year! Please add a comment telling me what you’d like to learn more about in 2021.

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

This month, it’s Blogging Bistro’s 2021 Content Calendar Template.

People use content calendars to plan their blog posts and social media posts in advance. They help you become more thoughtful and organized, with the end result being a more consistent and strategic social media presence.

I love this particular calendar because it’s a Word document, not a PDF file, so you can type in it. You can even change the theme colors to reflect your author branding.

It’s the perfect companion to my popular 2021 Literary Calendar (and be sure to download the PDF version of that, too, here). Laura Christianson, the calendar’s creator, even linked to that list and pre-loaded the calendar with some of its writerly occasions.

I’ve downloaded the 2021 Content Calendar Template and have started adding the literary holidays that I’d like to promote in coming months. Give it a try yourself.

It allows me to not only identify what topics resonated the most with readers (so I can provide more content on those topics, perhaps), but it also helps me find patterns and what might explain them.

For example, I’ve discovered that half of the 10 most popular posts on my blog (according to traffic) were guest posts. I can’t be certain why they rank so highly, but I suspect that it’s because the guest bloggers shared the link with their networks and brought new eyes to the site.

I always welcome new visitors, so I’ll continue to solicit great content on relevant topics from guest bloggers who are generous about sharing the link to their post with their social networks.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 Build Book Buzz blog posts, starting with number 10. Click each title to read the corresponding article:

10. How to create a street team for your book

This detailed guest post by Meagan Francis outlines how she created and used a street team for the launch of her e-book, Beyond Baby: Creating a life you love when your kids aren’t so little.

9. Take these steps before your book release

I love this guest post by Michael Murphy in large part because it’s so detailed — he not only tells you what to do, but he tells you when to do it, too.

8. 10 ways authors can help each other with book marketing

I hope the fact that this post is popular suggests that authors are interesting in collaborating with each other instead of competing.

7. Use LinkedIn’s publishing platform to create book buzz

After reading this inspiring guest post by Flora Brown, I re-worked one of my popular blog posts and published it on LinkedIn, where it enjoyed 672 views and 22 comments. Woot!

6. 4 quick tips about book publicity

With this post, I tried to dispel a few common publicity myths.

 5. Social media data tracking for authors in 4 easy steps

One thing I really like about this awesome guest post by my friend Laura Laing is that she illustrates how to do it with an Excel spreadsheet that authors can copy and use.

4. Discoverability and books

I attribute the traffic to this post to the fact that “discoverability” is one of the industry’s newer buzzwords. I suspect that people were searching for the term, hoping to learn more about what it means for their books and how to make their books more “discoverable.”

3. What do Facebook’s new rules mean for authors?

This was a timely post offering information on changes many authors weren’t aware of yet.

2. Why you shouldn’t give your book away

This guest post by my long-time friend in real life, Rhonda Penders, has generated the highest number of comments ever for one of my blog posts — nearly 100. If you haven’t read this one yet about e-book giveaways, definitely check it out. Read the comments, too — people shared lots of truly helpful feedback.

And, the most popular blog post of 2014 is . . . . 

1. 3 cool things you can do as a Goodreads author

Most of my posts get very few shares on StumbleUpon and only a few more on Pinterest, but for some reason, this post snagged 2,500 StumbleUpon shares and 101 on Pinterest. I suspect it’s because authors are hungry for useful information about how to take advantage of Goodreads.

What do you want to learn about in 2015? What topic do you want to see covered on this blog? Please comment below.